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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 




p. B. CRANE. 



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QUACK GRASS 

ERADICATION 



Prepared Especially for Farmers Desirous of Destroying this 
Dangerous Pest 



BY 



P. B. CRANE 



FIRST EDITION 







co^a^ 



Copyright, 1910 

by 

WEBB PUBLISHING COMPANY 

ST. PAUL, MINN. 



@.CIA265653 



PUBLISHERS' NOTE. 



For many years thinking agriculttirists have 
been watching with great apprehension the 
rapidly increasing growth and spread of the 
weed known as quack grass. A few years ago 
this pest was only found in scattered sections 
of the northern part of the United States, and on 
isolated farms, but today there are whole town- 
ships and coimties that are almost totally in- 
fested with the weed. When quack grass takes 
possession of land, the growing of profitable 
crops is almost out of the question. To acquaint 
those farmers, who are unfamiliar with quack 
grass, with the seriousness of this pest and to 
offer suggestions as to its eradication, is the 
purpose of this booklet. 

We know of just one man in the United States 
who has completely and absolutely killed, at will, 
any considerable quantity of quack grass. We 
say absolutely killed for the reason that there 
are many experimenters who have been partially 



successful along this line. That man is Mr. P. B. 
Crane of Long Lake, Minn. The result of his 
work has been carefully scrutinized by competent 
agricultural experts who have given the result 
of his work unquaHfied approval. Up imtil 
this time, however, his process has been unknown, 
Mr. Crane having formerly made it a practice to 
contract eradication of quack grass and to sell 
information concerning the process. For the 
benefit of those farmers who have quack-infested 
farms at this time, we have persuaded Mr. Crane 
to publish in book form the results of his in- 
vestigations, combining with his experience all 
other known information about the weed. 

It has been our endeavor to pubHsh herewith 
a book which will give full information about 
quack grass, not only the ideas of Mr. Crane, 
whose experience we can heartily commend and 
verify, but the experience of other practical farm- 
ers. It should be noted, however, that Mr. Crane 
is the only one of these experimentors who 
claims and has demonstrated complete eradica- 
tion. Reference is also given in these pages to 
other sources of information, with an idea of 
making this book a complete compendium on 
the subject of eradication of this troublesome 
pest. 



In the hope that this collaboration of expe- 
rience will meet with the approval of practical 
farmers, and that they will put these suggestions 
given into practice, we are, 

Very truly, 

THE PUBLISHERS. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 
What Is Quack Grass? — Hay. Identit3\ Comparison. 

CHAPTER II. 
How Quack Grass Grows. — Seeds. How Introduced. 

CHAPTER III. 
Principles of Eradication. — Different ^Methods. 

CHAPTER lY. 
My Story. — Discouragement. Final Success. Nature's 
Restorative. Rotation of Crops. Feeding the Soil. 

CHAPTER V. 
The Crane System of Quack Grass Eradication. — Its 

Accomplishments. 

CHAPTER VI. 
Eradication Methods. — Cultivation. When to Cultivate. 
How to Cultivate. 

CHAPTER VII. 
Eradication with Spray and Cultivation. — Formula for 
Spray. Use of Spray. Time to Spray. 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Miscellaneous Suggestions. — Cultivation at Different 
Seasons. 

CHAPTER IX. 
Other Methods.— Tar Paper. Smother Crops^ etc. 

APPENDIX. 
A Few Statements Concerning the Efficiency of Mr. 
Crane's Method. — A List of Standard Agricultural 
Books. 



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RESERVED 



I. 






CHAPTER I. 
WHAT IS QUACK GRASS? 

A Plant Out of Place. — It has been said 
that a weed is but a plant out of place, or a 
plant for which no good use has been found. 
Quack grass is this kind of a weed, especially in 
those agricultural sections of the United States 
where mixed farming is pursued, and the grow- 
ing of an occasional crop is the rule. Quack 
grass, together with the wild wheat grasses, 
to which it is closely related, is found in many 
sections of the United States. Like the wheat 
grasses, it is a valuable plant in semi-arid sections 
where the obtaining of a permanent stand of 
grass is desired, and where it is difficult to grow 
the ordinary tame grasses. 

Quack Grass Hay is quite nutritious, and quack 
grass pasture is apparently relished by all kinds 
of stock. There are some sections of the country 
where quack grass might become a valuable 
plant as a regular crop, but in the regions where 
mixed farming is pursued, it is certainly a plant 
out of place, and must at all times be considered 
as a very dangerous weed which a farmer will 




Fig-. 1. Quack grass (Agropyron repens Beauv.). (a) 
spikelet; (b) parts of spikelet displayed; (2) empty 
g-lumes. (Div. of Agros. U. S. Dept. Agrl.) (Bulletin 83, 
Experiment Station, Ames, Iowa.) 



WHAT IS QUACK GRASS? 11 

allow to grow on his farm at his peril. Backed 
by its wonderful root system, it will survive al- 
most any kind of unfavorable weather or soil 
conditions where it would be a most difficult 
problem for other plants to live, and it is so well 
equipped for a hard life that it will almost totally 
occupy rich land and crowd out and choke all 
other tame grasses, small grains and even a 
com crop. 

A Perennial. — Quack grass belongs to that class 
of plants that are known as perennials, the name 
which designates plants that live over from year 
to year, starting from seed and developing leafage 
the first season and storing up a food supply in 
the roots to carry the plant over winter. This 
is in marked contrast to the growth of such annual 
plants as start from seed, make all their growth 
in one season and die after producing a crop. 
Quack grass is therefore doubly dangerous on 
account of its long-Hved characteristics. It 
has been a dangerous and troublesome weed in 
Europe for a great many years, causing vastly 
increased expense of operating farm land. With 
our increased labor expense over European con- 
ditions the pest is a far greater problem here 
than abroad. 



12 QUACK GRASS. 

Judging from its characteristiCvS and habitat, 
quack grass seems to be essentially a northern 
weed, being most persistent in the northern tier 
of states. It is so cosmopolitan in its taste, 
however, that it is reaching farther south every 
year, and may soon be nearly as troublesome in 
the corn belt as it is in the small grain states. 

Identity. — Quack grass is known to the 
scientists as agropyron repens. It is quite 
often confused with a number of other grasses, 
especially the wheat grasses, to which family 
in fact it does belong. Without entering into a 
long discussion or description of these plants, 
we are publishing herewith photographs of quack 
grass plants and roots, and also photographs of 
other plants with which it is commonly confused. 

Those who are suspicious of harboring these 
plants on their farms should make it a point to 
study the photographs published herewith, and 
positively identify the weed with which they 
have to contend. 

Most of the experiment stations have pub- 
lished bulletins containing photographs of 
these different weeds. If the reader is at all in 
doubt as to the particular weed he has on his 
place, we would advise taking a specimen of the 




Fig- 2. Heads of (1) quack grass; notice how mucli closer 
'the spikelets are than in (2) rye grass; (3) true sweet 
vernal; (4) bromus. 



14 QUACK GRASS. 

stalk, seed and roots of the weed and sending it to 
the agronomist at the nearest experiment station. 
Comparison. — With reference to the different 
plants confused with quack grass, Prof. A. D. 
Wilson, of the Minnesota Experiment Station, has 
written the following description which appeared 
in a 1908 issue of The Farmer : 

''There are often other plants that are taken 
for quack grass, either by the similarity of the 
heads or by the fact that they have underground 
stems or root stalks. Rye grass has a head 
somewhat similar to quack (See Figure 2), but 
the two may usually be identified by the fact that 
the spikelets on the head of the rye grass are 
farther apart than on the head of the quack 
grass. Each spikelet on the quack grass extends 
past the base of the head next higher on the same 
side of the head, while in rye grass each spikelet 
does not reach the base of the spikelet about it 
(See Figure 2). Rye grass is a plant rather com- 
monly used for a hay crop, especially farther 
west where the seasons are usually dry. It 
does not make as good quality of hay as does 
timothy or bromus. It is not hard to destroy 
as it has no root stalks and may be distinguished 
from quack grass by the fact that its roots are 
fine and fiberous, similar to timothy roots. 




Fig-. 3. Root and head of holy grass, commonly called 
sweet vernal because sweet scented and often mistaken 
for quack grass in the spring before heading, as it has 
root stalks. 



16 QUACK GRASS. 

' 'Another grass commonly called sweet vernal, 
though not truely sweet vernal (See Figure 3), 
is very often taken for quack grass as it has simi- 
lar underground root stalks. This grass is 
usually recognized by its sweet, spicy odor and 
is certainly distinguished from quack grass by 
it bushy, panicled head, so different from the 
straight spike of the quack grass. 

"Bromus, a cultivated grass quite commonly 
grown for hay or pasturage, may sometimes 
be mistaken for quack grass, especially when small. 
Bromus is rather persistent and after a meadow 
or pasture of bromus is plowed it often starts in 
thick bimches, in the spring, very similar to 
quack grass and the two are not easily told apart 
at this stage, as both have undergroimd root 
stalks. Bromus may be recognized, however, 
by its broader leaf, and when heads appear, by 
its broadly spreading panicle (See Figure 2) . 

''Another class of plants known as muhlen- 
bergia is sometimes mistaken for quack grass, 
but plants of this class may be told with reason- 
able accuracy by their scaly root stalks. (See 
Figure 4.) The heads also are sufficiently dif- 
ferent to identify them. (See Figures 1 and 4). " 




Fig-. 4. Roots and heads of one of the muhlenbergias. 
roots' of all are similar. Note scaly root stalk. 



The 



CHAPTER II. 

HOW QUACK GRASS GROWS. 

Seeds. — Quack grass is usually introduced onto 
a farm either through the purchase of grass and 
grain seed or the purchase of hay containing 
quack. In buying hay a farmer should always 
be very careful to ascertain whether it comes 
from a quack grass farm. Quack grass seeds 
will not all be destroyed by feeding the hay to 
live stock, and if there is any seed in the hay 
the chances are that the farmer will later have 
some strange plants on his farm which he will, 
in time, identify as quack grass. 

Caution. — Until we have pure grain seed laws, 
when a farmer can tell exactly what he is buying, 
he is never safe from the introduction of quack 
grass on his farm. It is most often found in 
grass seed, and especially in timothy. While 
the seed is in the husk it is somewhat of the shape 
and size of blue grass seed or EngUsh rye grass, 
When the kernel shells out the naked seed is 
about the size of timothy, but longer, and is 
very likely to slip through without being detected. 
We reproduce here the photographs of the seed, 



HOW QUACK GRASS GROWS. 



19 



both with and without the husk. Look to 
your grass seed and do not plant any with quack 
in. This is the first step in prevention. 




Fig;. 5. Seeds of (1) quack grass, 
sing-le; (2) quack grass with two or 
inore seeds as they grew. They 
were not separated wlien shelled. 
They often appear together in this 

•• manner. (3) Pigeon grass. 



How Introduced. — Quack grass may be in the 
hay purchased from neighbors. It may be 
brought on the farm in screenings. The drop- 
pings of animals pastured on quack grass may start 
the pest, or it may creep under the fence from the 
neighbors. Once quack grass gets into a com- 
mimity it soon gets the visiting habit and tries 
to take up its abode on every farm in that com- 
munity. It is doubly dangerous on account 
of the insidious manner in which it works its 



20 QUACK GRASS. 

way onto the land of our good farms, getting a 
strong foothold before its presence is detected. 

The Tremendous Importance of Checking this 
weed at its first appearance, we cannot empha- 
size too strongly. A Httle job of hand digging 
may do the work at the start, but once the patches 
begin to appear over the farm, more vigorous 
measures must be undertaken and some of the 
remedies mentioned in this book adopted. 

There are very few men in the country who 
can say that they have killed quack grass. Some 
by tremendous energy and expense, have sub- 
dued it to the point where they can grow a profit- 
able crop for one year, but complete eradication is 
another matter. As long as a single root remains 
in the soil a constant fight must be waged. 

The Wisconsin Experiment Station estimates 
that it costs $30 an acre to exterminate quack grass 
by ordinary cultural methods. These methods have 
usually proven impractical in the hands of the 
average farmer. We believe that with the ordi- 
nary methods in use it will cost far more than this 
amoimt, and every farmer knows that the depre- 
ciation in the value of land known to be infested 
is more than the above amoimt. 

A Blessing in Disguise.— Quack grass is not 
without its merits. It has been called by some 



HOW QUACK GRASS GROWS. 21 

of our authorities a blessing in disguise. It is 
one of those perennial weeds that finds its best 
chance to grow on the farm where there is not 
a proper rotation of crops; in other words, on the 
farm of the soil robber. Weeds of this kind are 
Nature's rebuke to the man who believes in con- 
tinuous cultivation of land and who never gives 
the soil a rest by seeding down. 

It is an actual fact that land which has been 
cursed with quack grass, when reclaimed, is in an 
exceedingly fertile condition, the mass of decayed 
roots and the rest given to the soil having prac- 
tically rejuvenated it. Nature has merely fol- 
lowed her usual course of rotating crops and build- 
ing up the fertility of the soil by adding humus 
and stored plant food in the shape of roots. 

A Reclaimed quack grass farm is usually in 
almost a virgin state of fertility and will pay good 
interest by way of increased crops for the labor 
and loss of time spent in eradication. We 
believe a farmer should not rest content with 
anything short of complete eradication, such as 
Mr. Crane has made possible. 



CHAPTER III. 

PRINCIPLES OF ERADICATION. 

In the eradication of perennial weeds there 
are two principal points to consider: 

First, the elimination of the stalk and leaves, 
or all above ground growth. 

Second, the destruction of all roots. 

Annual Weeds are as a rule easily destroyed 
by simple cultivation, or the putting of land into 
cultivated crops. Barley is a useful crop to 
handle in connection with winter annual weeds. 

A Perennial plant, with an extensive root sys- 
tem, is an entirely different proposition. In 
a perennial plant, the stalk and leaves are mere- 
ly the stomach of the plant. True it is that we 
can keep down growth by shutting off the stomach 
of the roots and starving them to death, but it 
is a difficult task. 

As long as a single spear of grass can show 
itself to the sun or to the air, just so long will the 
roots retain their vitality. Our aim must there- 
fore be to entirely smother and rot them in the 
soil. 



PRINCIPLES OF ERADICATION. 23 

Of the Different Methods of eradication which 
give partial success, we would especially mention 
those methods that are based on the starvation 
of the roots : namely, the use of smother crops or 
bare fallowing. If a farmer wishes to completely 
eradicate quack grass from his farm, he must make 
up his mind to do a most thorough job. He 
will, by fallowing, lose the use of that land for 
one year. 

Eradication of quack grass requires effectual 
work and there is no use in temporizing with it. 
It can be partially subdued and a crop grown, 
but it creeps in from year to year and will always 
be an annoyance. A large share of the recent 
spread of quack grass can be directly traced to 
this cherished habit that farmers have of try- 
ing to eradicate quack grass and attempting a 
profitable crop at the same time. The crop 
very seldom turns out in a satisfactory manner. 
The quack grass is merely tickled by cultiva- 
tion into further vigor, and the results are un- 
satisfactory all around. 

Farmers who are in dead earnest in their efforts 
to eradicate quack grass, can do so by the care- 
ful following of the Crane System. Further- 
more, it will pay them to do this, even though 
they lose the use of the land for that year. This 



PRINCIPLES OF ERADICATION. 25 

is not necessary in all cases, however. In the 
first place they will be completely freed from 
the pest, and in the next place their land will 
be in so much finer mechanical condition, being 
mellow, fertile, and having all the plant food 
in the top soil available, that the increase in crops 
the following year on clean land will surely more 
than pay for the work of eradication. 

Of the different methods of eradication, we 
would suggest those outlined below as the most 
practical to follow, which methods are described 
more in detail in later pages of this book, 

Bare Fallowing. — Bare fallowing is the sys- 
tem most commonly advocated; in other words, 
the laying aside of a piece of land to be plowed 
in early summer before the quack grass has gone 
to seed and continuously replowed and harrowed 
throughout a growing season. This bare fal- 
lowing is ordinarily supposed to kill any weed, 
but unless the cultivator is especially faithful 
to his task, quack grass will elude him. 

Smother Crops. — The use of smother crops 
is commonly advocated. Even the most en- 
thusiastic advocates of this method do not 
assert that it will give complete eradication. 
The growing of buckwheat, sorghum, millet, 
clover, hemp and other foliage plants that shade 



26 QUACK GRASS. 

the ground, will keep quack grass in subjection 
during that season and thus possibly do good, 
but the roots which persist in the ground will 
quickly recuperate, and thrive with their original 
vigor the next season. Of this method we shall 
have more to say in later pages of this book. 

The Crane System. — Mr. Crane's system of 
complete eradication differs from other methods, 
in that it gives complete eradication of quack 
grass without damage to the land and without 
great expense, as is invariably the case with 
other haphazard methods. This method con- 
sists simply in turning quack grass sod roots 
under the ground to the point where they will 
not do any harm, and keeping them there by 
persistent cultivation, according to prescribed 
methods, until the roots have decayed. A 
dry season is supposed to be the proper time to 
kill quack grass, and the use of fallowing and 
other methods depend upon dry seasons. On 
the contrary, Mr. Crane's method does not de- 
pend upon the season to any great extent. Of 
the results of his method there can be no question ; 
the expressions of experts who have kept his 
fields under continuous inspection being sufficient 
evidence along this Hne. Not only has the 
method proven a success on Mr. Crane's own farm. 



PRINCIPLES OF ERADICATION. 27 

but it has proven likewise successful in the hands 
of other farmers. In the subsequent chapters 
of this book, Mr. Crane tells the story in his own 
words. It is the story of a practical farmer, 
who, by continuous experimentation, and after 
sad experience, has absolutely cleaned his farm 
of this weed, which was formerly so abundant 
that the place was known as ''The Quack Grass 
Farm." 



CHAPTER IV. 
MY STORY. 

Credentials. — In order to give the proper 
credentials to the practical farmers who read this 
book, I will say that I have been in close touch 
with farm matters all my life, and most of my 
time has been spent in actual tilling of the soil. 

I was born in Milwaukee, Wis., March 6th, 
1847, moved to Minnesota in 1869, and spent 
my early life on a farm in Chippewa County, 
Minnesota. In later years I conceived the 
idea of making a fortune in the city, but after 
a heavy loss by fire in 1897, I went back to my 
first love — the farm. 

The Last Farm which I purchased was in 
Hennepin county, Minnesota, near Long Lake. 
I knew that the soil w^as a heavy clay loam and 
capable of producing first-class crops. 

I did not know anything about quack grass, 
however, but after my purchase was made, be- 
came acquainted with the fact that the farm 
was very badly infested. 

It did not take me very many years to find 
out that if I did not get rid of quack grass on that 




.-:% 







MY STORY. 31 

farm, the quack grass would take complete pos- 
session and run me off the place. 

I Became so Discouraged that I could not sleep 
nights. The farm was mortgaged, and quack 
grass was getting more of a hold every day. 
I fairly cursed these roots from morning to night 
and loathed working among them; in fact, it 
was the most discouraging task I ever under- 
took. After most thoroughly cultivating and 
disking a field, in three or four days it would 
again begin to look green with a new growth of 
grass. 

Final Success. — Under such conditions can 
you wonder that I was compelled to study this 
pest, and by different methods seek to eradicate 
it? Can you wonder that I am anxious to tell 
other farmers of my final success after many years 
of careful work? 

My fields today are open to the inspection of 
anyone who cares to look at them, and they 
are as free from quack grass, and all other serious 
weeds, as was the virgin soil. Moreover, they 
are in the best state of fertility that they have 
ever been since the land was originally broken up. 
My land, in the condition which I found it, was 
worth practically nothing for cropping purposes. 



32 QUACK GRASS. 

I know of many other such farms that should 
be worth $100 an acre, which can be rented to-day 
absolutely free of charge if a man will merely 
work them. 

Today my farm is not only free of this weed, 
but it is in the finest possible mechanical con- 
dition, and I believe as fertile as it ever could be. 

I have increased its value from practically 
nothing, to $300.00 per acre. 

This land was a solid mat of quack grass. 
Today I have a ten acre apple orchard that is 
entirely free from quack, also raspberries, straw- 
berries and plums. This increased value is sole- 
ly because of the eradication of quack grass. 

I therefore feel no hesitation in advising my 
fellow farmers on the same subject. 

Since everything written has been taken from 
my own personal experience, I know exactly 
what I am talking about when I give advice and 
instruction. All this information has been se- 
cured by hard knocks with quack grass itself. 

Nature's Restorative. — In these years while 
I have been studying and fighting quack grass, 
I have gleaned many other ideas on good farm- 
ing. In the first place I have found out that 
quack grass is really a soil builder. When a 




Fig-. 0. This twin elm tree stands on Mr. Crane's farm. 
In early days it was used as a landmark for passersby. 
and the farm was called the "Twin Elm Farm." Later 
it became known as the "Quack Grass Farm." Since 
eradicating- the quack grass it is again pronounced the 
"Twin Elm Farm." 



34 QUACK GRASS. 

man grows continuous crops of com and other 
crops without putting back the proper compensa- 
tion of fertiUty in the soil, he soon exhausts 
this soil of humus and plant food which is so neces- 
sary for the continuous growing of good crops. 
Then Nature starts to growing perennial weeds, 
such as quack grass and other weeds that have a 
great root system. This mass of roots in the 
soil gathers plant food and holds moisture, and 
after dying and decaying again leaves in that soil 
the good heart which was originally given to it 
by the decaying crops of prairie grasses and forest 
mold. Nature locks up plant food when we 
farm land improperly. In other words it lacks 
humus and is out of mechanical condition. 
Grass roots restore this humus, unlock plant 
food, and the soil again becomes in good mechani- 
cal condition. I believe that some of our richest 
land today can be found under quack grass sods. 

Rotation of Crops. — In the next place I have 
learned that a sensible rotation of crops is abso- 
lutely essential in connection with good farming. 
We must give land a rest by seeding down to 
grass occasionally, especially the legumes which 
not only leave an abimdance of roots in the soil, 
but which take from the air nitrogen and put it 
into the soil in the form of nitrates ready for sue- 



MY STORY. 35 

ceeding crops. I have found that where a farmer 
practices a three or five year rotation of crops, 
which includes at least a year or two of grass, 
and feeds out this roughage to live stock, putting 
back the manure onto the grass land, he will keep 
the soil in almost a continuous state of fertility, and 
never find it necessary to purchase commercial 
fertilizer. This is Nature's way of farming, and I 
have observed that the closer we follow Nature, 
the better we will come out financially in our 
farming operations. 

Feeding the Soil. — I have found that we must 
feed the soil just as we feed our stock, and if we 
feed the soil we must turn the farm into a factory, 
sending off of it the finished products in the form 
of meat and butter, and saving the by-product — 
manure — and putting it onto the land before its 
manurial value is wasted. I have foimd a 
manure spreader a first-class investment for 
my farm, and believe it pays for itself every 
year. 

If I have any rotten strawstacks, the refuse 
goes back on the land. All manure is hauled 
out and used for top dressing the meadows and 
the grain fields immediately after the seeding 
is done. By following this rotation of crops, 
and the saving of all the manure, we keep all our 



36 QUACK GRASS. 

capital — the fertility of the soil — right on the 
farm, and clip off the coupons in the way of 
finished products. 

Cultivation is the foe of all weeds. The 
greatest benefit I have received in fighting quack 
grass has been the lesson of cultivation. By 
turning over the soil by cultivation we liberate all 
possible plant food, we warm the soil ; we mellow it; 
we aerate it, and get it into the best possible con- 
dition for a crop. No hard, lumpy condition of 
the soil should be aUowed to exist. Disk the 
land until you have pulverized the lumps. When 
you have seeded the field, and the tiny root of 
grain starts out in search of plant food, proper 
cultivation will put that plant food right in its 
path, but if it strikes a hard lump of earth which 
the root cannot penetrate, right there the growth 
is cut short. 

The Eradication of Quack Grass is intimately 
connected with good farming. I have noticed 
that the richer your land, the easier it is to 
eradicate quack grass. The poorer your land is, 
and the less humus it contains, the harder it is to 
eradicate quack grass. Therefore, when you 
are working with this weed, always keep in mind 
the enrichment of your soil. 



38 QUACK GRASS. 

You could not find a more worthless forty 
acre farm in Minnesota than was mine when I 
purchased it. Today I do not believe you can 
find a better forty in the state, and I challenge any 
farmer to produce better crops than I will produce 
on this re-claimed quack grass farm. I extend 
a general invitation to every farmer interested 
in this work, to visit the farm and see the results, 
as I beUeve it is the only absolutely re-claimed 
quack grass farm which exists today. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE CRANE SYSTEM OF QUACK GRASS 
ERADICATION. 

The Information which has been sent out from 
the agricultural experiment stations, and through 
the agricultural press, concerning the eradication 
of quack grass, would fill volumes. I feel safe 
in saying, however, that a great deal of this in- 
formation has not been based upon the actual 
experience of those giving tliis information. 
There are very few people who from actual ex- 
perience can say that they have subdued quack 
grass to the point where they can raise profitable 
crops, to say nothing of complete eradication. 
Furthermore, the information disseminated has 
been so conflicting and so imperfect in many cases 
that the farmer seeking information has become 
confused and disgusted to the point where he 
believes that it is entirely impossible to absolutely 
eradicate the pest. 

As Originator of the ' ' Crane System * ' I claim 
to be the only man living who has actually re- 
claimed an abandoned quack grass farm, and to 
have originated a practical system of eradication 



40 QUACK GRASS. 

which can be followed by any farmer who cares 
to study the matter and follow instructions. 

The Fields on my farm at Long Lake, in Hen- 
nepin County, Minnesota, which were completely 
taken by a most vigorous stand of qua,ck grass, 
can be inspected by anyone who cares to mske an 
investigation; and I challenge anyone to produce 
cleaner fields or a more perfect condition of the 
soil. These fields have been repeatedly investi- 
gated by competent experts whose testimony is 
given in another portion of this book, and I have 
at all times kept the standing offer to give $5.00 
for any Hve root or spear of quack grass which 
can be found on the fields so treated. 

Quack grass is undoubtedly one of the worst 
pests that the American farmer ever had to con- 
tend with. On account of its extreme hardi- 
ness, and its abiUty to thrive on most any kind 
of soil or under most adverse conditions, it seems 
almost an utter impossibility to destroy it. 
Thousands of farmers have labored persistently 
and continuously year after year, trying as best 
they knew how, to kill, or at least check the growth 
and further spread of its roots; but in spite of all 
their toil and precaution Quack Grass has 
made steady progress. It has spread from the 
little green patch that was first discovered in the 



THE CRANE SYSTEM. 41 

field, until it has entirely and completely covered 
said field, and not being satisfied with that, 
has continued its onward march across the Hne 
into the adjoining fields, and along the highways 
and the byways, and is rapidly creeping into every 
nook and corner where vegetation grows, and will 
continue to spread just as long as it is allowed 
to exist. 

Complete Eradication of quack grass is what 
the American farmer wants today, and were I 
not able to give you this, there would be no need 
of this book. Many progressive tillers of the 
soil can hold quack grass in subjection, and thereby 
raise a fair crop on his land; but to accomplish 
this one has to do a great deal of extra work every 
year, and still the quack grass roots are sufficient- 
ly numerous to again thoroughly sod the ground 
the next season. 

It is true that this cultivation is very bene- 
ficial to the soil, and where you have applied a 
proper system of cultivation I have no hesitancy 
in stating that your field produced an increased 
yield, and you were rejoiced in that you had 
gotten a little the best of quack grass. I feel 
safe is stating that thousands of farmers have ap- 
plied sufficient cultivation to their quack grass 



42 QUACK GRASS. 

fields to have completely eradicated the quack, 
had this work been applied in the proper manner. 
For seven years I struggled along in this man- 
ner, and all of the time the quack was getting the 
best of me. In 1902 I used a chemical solution 
that was strong enough to kill the quack. I 
applied this to the patches in the field, and those 
patches are still visible, as it not only killed the 
quack, but ruined the soil, and those patches are 
barren today. 

My next success was with a spray which would 
check the growth of the plant so that it would 
succumb to cultivation. This spray was applied 
to the grass which was plowed under. Then 
the groimd was thoroughly disked so as to form 
a dust covering, or mulch, all over the surface of 
the field. This served to conserve the moisture, 
also to prevent the evaporation of the spray, 
and where the disking was repeated every week 
for seven weeks, the grass was completely gone, 
and nothing but the dead and decayed roots re- 
mained to tell the story. From this I learned 
that quack grass could be killed by cultivation 
alone; but cultivation without the spray takes 
from two to four weeks more time. While it 
takes more time and cultivation to kill it in this 
manner, the extra cultivation is very beneficial 



THE CRANE SYSTEM. 43 

to your land. I am sure that you will agree with 
me (after you have killed your quack) that quack 
grass has really proved a friend in saving your 
soil fertility. 

I have been a farmer for forty years in the 
grand old state of Minnesota, and I am free to 
confess that quack grass has taught me the best 
lesson that I have ever learned, and that is, the 
preparation of the soil for the planting of the seed. 

I raised one hundred and six baskets of corn 
to "the acre this season — 1909 — where the last 
crop on said field only produced thirty baskets 
off the five acres of ground. Quack grass had 
previously choked out the crop completely. 

When my system of eradication reclaims this 
field that was abandoned from cultivation be- 
cause of quack grass, and prepares the soil in 
such condition that it will produce 106 baskets 
of corn to the acre, I feel justified in saying that 
quack grass has rejuvenated my land. No ferti- 
lizer was used on this field, other than the quack 
grass roots. The heavier the quack grass, the 
more productive the soil. Show me a farm that 
is heavily sodded with quack, and I will show 
you a farm that is worth good money. 

Quack grass is the best indicator of soil quaUty 
of any plant that grows. Poor land, under a 



*- 





i!mi.'^-i "JA^m^^A^AJ % il'^JMA ^k*SJ»i^^y:.k S3> 



THE CRANE SYSTEM. 45 

poor system of cultivation is, comparatively 
speaking, free from quack grass, while in good 
land under a poor system of cultivation the quack 
soon takes entire possession. 

Quack grass lands that are abandoned from 
cultivation and used for pasture or hay land, will, 
in a few years, fail to produce very much forage. 
Blue grass and white clover, will, apparently, take 
its place. Should you plow this field, the quack 
grass roots are there and will be the first to show 
green on the fields, and will sgain produce a heavy 
crop of hay, or supply a good pasture for a few 
years. Now, if you wiU apply a good heavy 
coat of manure as a top dressing, the quack 
will be the first to respond. The more you en- 
courage quack, the more you enrich your land 
because of the additional roots produced which 
become plant food in due course of time. 

Quack grass is a surface plant, never growing 
more than three, or in extreme cases, four inches 
deep of its own accord. You may plow it down 
8 or 10 inches, and next season when you again 
plow, you will turn these roots up, apparently 
alive and healthy, provided you have raised small 
grain on that field; but if you have raised a culti- 
vated crop and done the cultivating in a thorough 
manner, you will find that the roots which you 



46 QUACK GRASS. 

plowed under to the depth of 8 or 10 inches, 
have all decayed. Allow me to refer you to 
your own corn field. I take it for granted that 
you had a quack grass corn field or you would not 
have any use for this book. Where you culti- 
vated your corn sufficiently to kill the quack 
between the rows, you will find, on again plow- 
ing that ground, that the old roots lying between 
the rows of corn are dead; but those in the hill 
of corn are very much alive clear down to the bot- 
tom of the furrow which was turned oven in pre- 
paring this ground. 

Now, kind reader, if you killed the quack 
between the rows of corn, what would prevent 
killing all of it, if the corn was not there? 

Experience With Different Fields. — As pre- 
viously stated, my farm when purchased was 
famous as a quack grass farm; in fact, it was 
entirely taken with the pest, and as a conse- 
quence was much depreciated in value. 

In ridding the different fields of the weed I 
pursued different methods of eradication with in- 
different success, until finally I arrived at definite 
methods which I have since followed. This 
experience has differed somewhat, according to 
the different fields treated, and I shall herein 
attempt to summarize this experience. In one 



48 QUACK GRASS. 

field which had been abandoned for cultivation 
for many years, the quack grass roots did not ex- 
tend down more than two and one-half inches 
and were very small and slender. I plowed this 
about 8 inches deep, then used the disk every week 
for six weeks, and then every other week for the 
balance of the season, commencing June, 1907. 
(See Fig. No. 12.) This field was seeded to 
wheat in 1908 and the growth was so heavy 
that it all lodged and had to be cut with 
a mowing machine. Even at that I got 18 
bushels to the acre. The ground was plowed 
that fall and the next spring was seeded to 
speltz. Tliis also lodged and was cut with 
the mower, raked with the hay rake, and then 
it yielded 40 bushels per acre. Not a spear of 
quack can now be found on this field. I shall 
sow same field to oats next season and shall 
expect at least 50 bushels to the acre on this 
ground, and will report the yield. 

On one other field I commenced work May 
25th, 1908, and on another field on which I cut 
quack grass hay in July, 1908, I commenced work 
in August. These two pieces were planted to 
corn May 14th, 1909. One hundred and six 
baskets of corn to the acre from these fields, 



THE CRANE SYSTEM. 49 

while the year before no man would have given 
one dollar per acre for the use of this land. 

Another strip along the roadway, cut of which 
is herewith submitted, was plowed in the spring, 
same as the balance of the field, for corn, but 
the sod was so thick that there was no show for 
the com to grow. In August I went at this with 
a certain form of cultivation. This season— 
1909— this strip was planted to corn with the rest 
of the field, and no sign of any return of the 
quack grass. (See Fig. 13.) 

On another two-acre piece I had sweet corn in 
1908, but the quack had the best of it all the way 
through. Commencing October 10th, I complete- 
ly eradicated the quack grass from this field. 
Same was planted to raspberries this spring— 
1909— and is in perfect condition. This past 
season of 1909, I commenced on a low piece of 
ground May 21st. There was a heavy sod of 
quack all over the field. On one-half of this 
field the spray was applied and not on the other 
half — same cultivation continuous over the en- 
tire field. On September 1st, the portion, on 
which the spray was applied, the quack was com- 
pletely killed, while on the balance of the field the 
green still showed in October. 



THE CRANE SYSTEM. 51 

Where eradication without the spray is desired, 
work of plowing should not be commenced be- 
fore June 10th; but where the spray is used, work 
can be commenced as early as May 20th. This 
work may be commenced as late as November 
1st and have the quack killed by the 1st of July 
of the following year, and by being most thorough 
with the cultivation it can be completed in early 
June. 

I plowed a heavy sod of quack November, 1908, 
and June, 1909, it was completely eradicated. 

Another field on which cultivation was com- 
menced June 15, 1909, the last work was done on 
this field, Aug. 25, and it is now entirely free 
from quack. No plowing was done in this 
field. The actual labor applied would not 
amoimt to the value of five dollars per acre. 

On another field, the plowing was done June 
20th, 1909. Not a spear of quack has been seen 
on this field since September 15th. Still another 
field on which clover and quack grass was cut 
for hay July, 1909, was plowed in September, 
the second crop being turned under. This field 
will be planted to corn in May, 1910, and I will 
guarantee that it will be entirely free from quack 
grass, and will produce without a doubt, 60 
bushels of corn next season. I do not say this 



52 QUACK GRASS. 

boastingly, but the conditions warrant it. The 
cultivation necessary to kill quack grass has pul- 
verized the soil and made a perfect seed bed. 
Add to that the decayed quack grass and clover 
and you will understand why I mention 60 bushels 
of corn per acre. We must feed Mother Earth 
if she continues to feed us. I believe that the 
all- wise Creator sent quack grass to teach us that 
plant food and intensive cultivation are neces- 
sary to the production of bountiful crops. When 
I see the most bountiful crops that these aban- 
doned, but now reclaimed, quack grass fields 
produce, I sincerely thank the Lord for this great 
blessing. 



CHAPTER VI. 
ERADICATION METHODS. 

The Crane System of Quack Grass Eradica- 
tion is based on the principle of turning over 
the quack grass sod, roots and all, to a sufficient 
depth so that we can cultivate or disk the top 
soil without disturbing the roots. 

Our chief aim then is to keep this sod where 
we have placed it until the roots are decayed 
or absolutely dead. We do not want to plow 
that land again and turn up those roots until 
we are sure that the roots are absolutely dead, 
or else the work may have to be done over again. 

Plowing.— A field thoroughly sodded with 
quack grass should first be plowed eight or ten 
inches deep. If the spray system, described 
elsewhere in this book, is used, the spraying 
must, of course, be done first. 

Use a breaking plow and lay the sod over 
flat and smooth. 

A jointer should be used on the plow so as to 
drop the sod down flat in the furrow, and not 
lay the end edge up on the top of the other 



54 QUACK GRASS. 

slice. When this plowing is properly done 
it means the saving of much work. 

Effective Plowing. — When it is possible to do 
so, one should plow around the field, thereby 
avoiding back furrows. While this may not 
appeal to some practical farmers as the ideal way 
to plow, the object in thus plowing is to com- 
pletely turn the sod under and have three inches 
of clean dirt on top of the sod after it is turned 
over. 

Disking. — When the plowing is finished, hitch 
onto the disk and drive the same way that you 
plow, and lap the disk half way so that you 
virtually turn all the groimd twice. 

Disk twice over in this manner. 

Care. — In using the disk one should be very 
careful not to turn the green sod up again, as 
we must remember at all times that we are trying 
to keep it underneath the dirt. In case the disk 
goes too deep, set it so that it will not turn 
so much dirt, and in some cases the driver must 
walk. 

In our treatment remember we are just turn- 
ing the top dirt, using this dirt as a blanket, 
so to speak, to starve out and rot those roots 
imdemeath. 




Fig. 14. Plowing. This plow does not turn the sod over 
flat. A jointer should be used so as to drop the sod 
right down flat on the bottom of the furrow. 



56 QUACK GRASS. 

Interval. — After you have disked sufficiently 
— in other words when you have formed a fine 
dust covering or mulch all over the surface on 
that field — ^you can then let the work rest for 
a week or ten days, when you chould get out 
your disk and go over it again. 

Set the disk at as steep an angle as you pos- 
sibly can — be sure of this — and lap the disk half 
way each time so that there is no open space 
left where the center of the disking passes over 
the ground. 

Cross Disk. — During this second disking period, 
also cross disk and let the work rest for a week 
or ten days. Then repeat the work. 

Stubborn Patches. — On portions of the field 
where there are especially stubborn patches of 
quack grass, see to it that you keep up the disk- 
ing until you have the soil over these patches 
thoroughly pulverized. 

The ends of the field, where you have turned 
around and packed the ground when you were 
plowing, should also receive special attention, 
for it will take extra work there to do a thorough 
job of pulverizing. I always finish up by going 
back and forth across the ends several times. 
I always notice that where I have put on extra 
work, the result is very evident. 



ERADICATION METHODS. 57 

Cultivator. — After you have given the field 
the fourth disking, as above described, work 
the field the fifth time with a sulky corn cultiva- 
tor. The cultivator which I have been using 
is especially adapted for this work, the points 
of the shovel being reinforced and the blades 
made extra heavy for this work in quack grass. 
The shovel should be of such a shape that the 
roots do not hang over the points, thereby pre- 
venting the doing of good work. The lags 
should be placed so close together that you do not 
miss any of the quack grass roots. Cultivate 
this ground three inches deep on the fifth week. 
Cultivate crosswise also and go four inches deep. 

The Driver. — Allow me to say a word to the 
driver of the cultivator. If you have turned 
over a thick quack grass sod you must remem- 
ber there are quack grass roots in every inch of this 
ground, consequently, you must cultivate every 
inch of the ground, and cultivate at an even 
depth. Drive the team straight. Do not jerk 
them first to one side and then to the other, but 
keep a line on them all the time and see that 
the tracks from your cultivator are straight. 

It is much easier for a team to step straightfor- 
ward every step than to be turned first to the right 
and then by a hard jerk on the Hne back against 




Fig-. 15. The above cvit shows quack grass roots. They are cut in 
joints to illustrate that any one of these joints, if left in the 
ground undisturbed will at once commence to grow. 



ERADICATION METHODS. 59 

the whiffletree, and then, by another jerk 
of the line, swung to the left. The man who 
expects to kill quack grass successfully must 
see to it that the" cultivating is properly done. 
In order to be sure of the work every inch of the 
ground must be disturbed thoroughly every time 
you go over it, and in order to do this you must 
drive in a straight line across the field and not 
leave any ground that is not thoroughly disturbed 
with the cultivator. Quack grass roots two 
inches long if left in the ground undisturbed will 
at once begin to grow. If you realize this fact, 
you can readily understand why it is absolutely 
necessary that the cultivation be done in a 
thorough and workmanlike manner. This not 
only applies to the work with the cultivator, 
but in all work in eradicating quack grass. 

The Harrow. — After you have cultivated this 
field thoroughly both ways during the fifth week 
after the plowing was done, the field can again 
rest for one week, at the expiration of which 
time you should use the harrow, going over the 
field both ways until you have shaken the pieces 
of sod all apart so there are no chimks of sod or 
clusters of roots hanging together solid enough to 
hold the moisture. After this harrowing has been 
done in a proper manner, the disking will finish 



60 QUACK GRASS. 

the quack. Follow disking as above described 
every week or ten days. In case you are pre- 
vented from doing this work at regular intervals, 
do not forego it entirely but give a double dose 
so as to make up for lost time. The result should 
be nearly the same. 

BY ALL MEANS DO NOT RESORT TO PLOW- 
ING THE FIELD A SECOND TIME. 

Remember, that we must keep those quack 
grass roots underneath until they are thoroughly 
rotted. 

Wet Fields. — Do not be afraid of wet fields, but 
follow the above treatment as described. At 
first I was a little skeptical when plowing knd 
that was water-soaked, but found some of the 
best work of eradicating was done on these very 
fields. Never turn around because of low or 
wet ground; go right through it. 

Remember the three methods of cultivation: 
first, the disk to pulverize the surface; then the 
cultivator at a depth of three or four inches; 
then the harrow to shake it to pieces, and finally 
the disk. This will absolutely insure complete 
eradication. 

Time. — Plowing can be done at any time 
between May 20th and Nov. 1st. I would not 



62 QUACK GRASS. 

plow in the spring, however, until the quack grass 
had gotten a good start — say after June 10th. 
I would prefer to plow at the time when I 
find the plant the weakest; in other words, just 
before it has matured a crop of seed. The quack 
grass can then be cut for hay* and the sod 
turned over when the roots are the weakest. This 
means that there will be cultivating to do to kill 
these roots. If we plow before this time we have 
all the strength of the roots to fight. Plow- 
ing can be done, however, any time after the 
first of June and about the same results obtained. 
Eradication Without Plowing. — There are some 
quack grass infested fields where it is not neces- 
sary to plow in order to kill out the quack grass. 
For instance, fields that have been in corn, pota- 
toes or other cultivated crops the previous year. 
In such cases take the disk and go over the ground 
several times, or until you have cut the surface 
all to pieces. Then take the cultivator and cul- 
tivate three inches deep. Be very certain that 
the teeth are sharp, then keep them sharp at 
all times so they will cut the roots off smooth and 
clean. After cultivating three inches deep, cross 
cultivate and go four inches deep. Be sure 
and cut all the ground and do not leave any 
strips unturned. Be very thorough with this 

* NOTE. Be sure to cut hay crop before seed has ripened. 



ERADICATION METHODS. 63 

work of cultivating, and make certain that there 
is not one root left undisturbed. Complete 
eradication is what we want and what we can 
have if we are thorough with this work of culti- 
vating. You will be well repaid for extra culti- 
vation, for the reason that you put that ground 
into the best possible condition for a crop next 
year — not only in the best mechanical condi- 
tion, but you will also have made available 
great quantities of plant food, and your crop the 
following year should more than repay you for 
all the work you have put into quack grass 
eradication. 

In case the sod is solid in places you will find 
it rather hard work the first time over with the 
cultivator, but stay by it. In my experience, 
the sod and grass many times have rolled up in 
front of the shovel until I would have to raise them 
to clean them out, but I always made it a point 
to go over such places time and again until I 
had the sod completely turned up. This method 
of cultivation is the quickest way to eradicate 
quack grass, and any field that the disk and culti- 
vator will dig up should be treated in this manner, 
thus avoiding plowing. 

After the surface has been treated as above 
described, then use the cultivator every two weeks. 



64 QUACK GRASS. 

and you will soon discover that there is no quack 
grass growing in that field. 

During the next spring, when you prepare for 
the seeding of any crop that you wish to plant, 
use the disk in preparing the soil. 

Do not plow; this would only turn up a fresh 
patch of weed seeds and roots which you would 
have to fight. 

Do not be misled by a spell of dry weather 
for the drier the weather, the more necessary is 
cultivation. Quack grass roots will lie dormant 
in the sod through any period of dry weather, and 
this might lead you to believe that the roots 
were dead. However, they are only play- 
ing ''possum," and when moisture comes they 
will begin to grow. Therefore, I repeat the ad- 
vice, cultivate more frequently during dry weather 
than when it is wet. 

Moisture is necessary to cause decay of the 
roots. When there is sufficient moisture in the 
ground, you can keep it there by your blanket 
mulch, caused by cultivation. 

Cultivation prevents the growth of the stalk 
and leaves, which is the stomach of the roots, 
and also retains the moisture, consequently decay 
must take place. 



ERADICATION METHODS. 65 

Cultivation should be deep and thorough. 

Wherever I have treated a field by surface culti- 
vation alone — ^no plowing whatever — I have al- 
ways accomplished complete eradication with 
much less labor, and in a shorter space of time, 
than on fields that had to be plowed. Surface 
cultivation gets at the roots directly, and with 
the proper kind of a cultivator you can go deep 
enough to get under the roots and cut off or draw 
them to the surface. 

Roots that are cut oflf and remain below will 
be smothered by the dust covering which the 
cultivator will produce, and the roots that are 
exposed to the air and the warm rays of the sun 
will soon wither and die. If all of these roots 
could be brought to the surface by one cultiva- 
tion it would be an easy matter to eradicate 
quack grass, but this is impossible. You will 
notice that all roots on the ground are soon 
dead. Another cultivation of this field brings 
another supply of live roots to the surface, and 
soon you will find that they are all dead, pro- 
vided you have cultivated in the manner described. 



CHAPTER VII. 

ERADICATION WITH SPRAY AND CULTI- 
VATION. 

Using the Spray System. — My first success in 

killing quack grass was by means of a spray, 
combined with a system of cultivation. 

In experimenting with different kinds of 
chemicals, I found one or two formulae that would 
absolutely kill quack grass, but most of them 
would also ruin the soil for future crops for a 
year or two. Salt, for instance, will kill quack 
grass, but will poison the soil temporarily imtil the 
alkaline matter is washed out. One formula, 
however, I found especially valuable for use in 
spraying quack grass fields. It is harmless to 
the soil when applied as directed. 

The formula for this spray is as follows : 

Take 40 gallons of water and dissolve 8 lbs. 
of sulphate of iron and 2 lbs. of salt. To this 
add 2 gallons of sulphuric acid. Stir until the 
sulphate of iron and the salt are thoroughly dis- 
solved, and the solution is then ready for use. 

Quantity. — ^The above amoimt of spray is 
sufficient for one acre of quack grass, and should 



68 QUACK GRASS. 

be applied in a thorough manner, taking care that 
every portion of the field is touched with the 
spray. 

Apply the spray twenty-four hours before you 
begin to plow, and plowing should be finished 
within four days after spraying. This means 
spraying only an amount of land that you can 
plow in four days. 

The spray should not be applied while the 
grass is wet, nor before a rain storm. 

We should have two hours of sunshine after 
spraying, before dew or rain falls upon it. 

My idea in spraying is merely to coat the en- 
tire quack grass plant with a thin film of the spray 
mixture. In my experience in spraying, I have 
used the power sprayer as shown in figure 17. 

This is, of course, the most effective way of 
using the spray, as the mixture comes out in a 
thin cloud of spray that covers all the grass in 
the path of the sprayer. Before I purchased my 
power sprayer, however, I used a small hand 
sprayer and got about the same results. 

Time to Spray. — In spraying quack grass, I 
have usually used the spray on land where I 
have previously cut the quack grass for hay. 
After cutting this hay I have allowed the quack 



SPRAY AND CULTIVATION. 69 

grass to spring up again until it is four to eight 
inches high and has quite a foHage. I then spray it 
in just as effective a manner as possible, and com- 
mence plowing it the next day following the day 
on which I have sprayed. 

Heavy Sod. — Heavy sod of quack should be 
plowed with a breaking plow, and turned over 
just as smooth as possible, and should be seven 
to nine inches deep. This will give you sufficient 
loose dirt on top with which to form a mulch of 
dust covering which will prevent the evaporation 
of the spray, and will also hold the moisture in 
the ground, which will cause the roots to decay. 

Follow the plowing immediately with the disk, 
and do not ride the disk the first time over the 
field, as that would cause it to cut too deep, 
and thereby turn up more or less sod; this must 
be avoided, as we want the main sod underneath 
where it will decay. Have the disk follow the 
same way of the plow, and lap the disk half way 
every time. Disk until you have pulverized the 
surface of the field completely. When tliis work 
is completed, your field can rest for two weeks. 
Then take the disk and go after it again, and lap 
half way every time. Disk until you have 
thoroughly pulverized the surface of the field, 
and where there is a patch more stubborn than 



70 QUACK GRASS. 

the rest, turn around and go over it imtil your 
own good judgment tells you that you have con- 
quered it. Ride the disk always after the first 
time over the field, and at all times have the disk 
set at as steep an angle as you possibly can. This 
turns the ground over and cuts off the roots, and 
at the same time loosens them from the soil. 

Be thorough with this work. Disk it imtil 
you have completely killed all the new growth of 
quack, and have pulverized the sods so that the 
surface of the field has a perfect dust covering 
all over it. Then let it rest for another two weeks. 

At the expiration of two weeks you will see 
green blades of quack growing all over the surface 
of the field, which may seem very discouraging to 
you. This is not at all discouraging for two 
reasons: first, because the green blades that ap- 
pear on the surface are very valuable as a fertilizer, 
and the disking will destroy their growth and 
cause them to decay, and the more decayed vege- 
tation that you can get in your ground, the more 
fertile it becomes; second, the cultivation neces- 
sary to kill this growth will pulverize the ground 
and at the same time draw the moisture and re- 
tain it so that the main sod, which is imderneath, 
must decay. Take your disk and go at it for the 
third time, lapping the disk half way every 



SPRAY AND CULTIVATION. 71 

time, and always set at the steepest angle possi- 
ble. The team should walk at a good fair gait 
— ^not snail along. The object is to move the 
ground, therefore, do it. 

Cultivator. — After two weeks' rest, take the 
sulky com cultivator and go over this field in a 
thorough manner, cultivating three inches deep. 
Then cross cultivate and go four inches deep. 
Be sure and stir every inch of the ground. Let 
rest for one week and then harrow in a most 
thorough manner. Frequent disking thereafter 
Vv^ill complete the job. 

Do not plow this ground for the next crop. 
Double disking and harrowing will prepare it in 
excellent shape for the seed. 

Stubble Ground. — Where a crop has been 
raised and harvested, the spray can be applied 
to the stubble and the plow set at work, plowing 
six inches deep. Follow this with the disk 
always set at steep angle. The driver can ride 
this all the time. Lap half way and go over the 
field several times, then rest one week and repeat 
the work. Every time you go over this you will see 
the improvement in the condition of the groimd. 
The time is short in which to prepare this for the 
crop next season, therefore it stands you in hand 
to repeat this work just as often as you can dur- 



72 QUACK GRASS. 

ing the fall. The fourth cultivation should be with 
the corn cultivator, going three inches deep the 
first time over, then cross cultivate and go about 
as deep as you plowed. Then harrow most 
thoroughly and the remainder of the work should 
be with the disk. 

In preparing this field for the spring crop, 
use the disk and harrow only. 

Spray and Cultivation Without the Plow. — 
Where the condition of the ground is such 
that the disk and corn cultvator will cut up the 
surface, the plow is not used. Spray the grass 
and then use the disk with the heaviest driver 
possible. Disk thoroughly and use the corn 
cultivator until you have a perfect mulching 
four inches deep all over the field. Then use the 
cultivator every two weeks with an occasional 
harrowing, and soon the quack will not be seen. 

This is decidedly the easiest way to kill quack 
grass. Take a field that was into corn the pre- 
vious year, the disk and cultivator will do the 
work if applied as above stated. Where the sod 
is firm, then the plow must be used. Where 
the plow is not to be used, the work can be com- 
menced in early April and the field seeded July 
1st. Where the plow is used, the work should not 
be commenced imtil Jime. The work may be 



SPRAY AND CULTIVATION. 73 

commenced as late as November 1st, and the 
cultivation continued during the early spring. 
Bear in mind that it takes twelve week's time to 
make sure that Quack is dead. 

Do not plow a piece in April or early May. 
The grass is too vigorous at this date to even 
think of giving up its growth for the production 
of seed, but when it has spent this special energy, 
it is then using its strength and vitality in the 
growth of roots, consequently is the more easily 
combated. 

The soil breathes the air just as naturally 
as a person does, only the respiration is not as 
frequent. In the fall of the year the soil becomes 
light and airy, inhaling the air, preparing for 
the production of another crop the next season. 
In the spring of the year it closes down and forces 
the air out and is ready for the seed. In fact, 
the groimd is the storage battery containing the 
necessary ingredients for the production of vege- 
tation; and before man began to till this land it 
was rich and fertile. 

Nature's Restorative. — If we would continue 
to let Nature have its way, the soil would grow 
more fertile year by year. But the farmer gave 
no thought or care to the future, consequently 
gave nothing back to Mother Earth. This is 



74 QUACK GRASS. 

contrary to Nature's laws. Nature provides that 
vegetation shall grow and decay upon the ground. 
This decayed matter brings all the other proper- 
ties into perfect condition, and heavy growth 
can be had every year. Man, in his shortsighted- 
ness, will not even give back the straw that grew 
on the field, when this is all that is needed, 
together with thorough tillage, to continue the 
growth of bountiful crops year after year. This 
is why quack grass was sent us. The roots con- 
tinue to grow. The plowing and cultivating 
kills a portion of them, and they decay and fer- 
tilize the ground, and in due course of time will 
bring that groimd back to its original fertility. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

MISCELLANEOUS SUGGESTIONS. 

September Work. — Any field that has raised a 
crop of small grain can be plowed just as soon as 
the crop is gathered, and the quack can be killed 
in time for the seeding in the spring. Plow six 
inches deep, or a trifle more, being careful to turn 
the sod completely over. I^ap the disk half way over 
every time so that the open space left in the center 
of the disk will be avoided. Be very careful to 
do this. Once over the field in this manner is 
called double disking. This double disking should 
be done just as soon after plowing as possible. 
Then turn and cross disk the field in the same 
manner. Double disk this field every ten days 
or two weeks, and weight the disk so that it will 
cut as deep as the land was plowed. In the 
spring, give this land two more double diskings 
and it is ready for the seed. Have your disk 
sharp so that it will cut right through the sod. 
Working with a dull disk is merely wasting time. 
Set it at as steep an angle as possible. Be very 
careful on these points : namely, covering the entire 
field; having the disk sharp, and having the disk 
set at a steep angle all the time. 



76 QUACK GRASS. 

October Work. — Work of eradication can be 
commenced at any time, even as late as October, 
and even into November, but the cultivation 
should be continued during April and May of 
the next season, and even to July 1st, in some cases ; 
then put in a late crop, such as millet, buckwheat, 
flax or fodder corn. Do not seed to any crop 
until quack is dead. The above crops are merely 
suggested for the reason that they will usually 
mature when planted late in the season. 

Whenever the field is in such condition that 
the disk or cultivatior will tear up the sod, do not 
plow. Use the disk to cut up the surface, and 
then the cultivator with sharp shovels, going 
three inches deep. Cross cultivate and go four 
inches deep. Repeating this cultivc^.tion every 
two weeks is the surest method of killing quack 
grass. This method means complete eradica- 
tion by surface cultivation alone and without 
plowing. Your field will be ready for the seed 
in the spring by just double disking once. 

Abandoned Fields. — Fields that have been 
abandoned from cultivation, and are firmly 
sodded with quack, may be handled at any time 
after June 10th. The method followed should 
be as described in the chapter headed "Eradica- 
tion Methods. ' ' It takes from ten to twelve 



MISCELLANEOUS. 77 

weeks to complete the job where the plow is 
used. Thus you will understand that a field 
where work is commenced in November will 
require all the time until July in which to com- 
plete the work. Never plow the ground the 
second time. Those roots that are so deep that 
the disk or cultivator does not reach them, will 
die and decay provided you have kept the green 
blades from conveying the breath of life to them. 
Do not feel that the killing of quack grass is the 
only good that will come from this work, for the 
improved condition of the soil, together with the 
decayed quack grass roots, will give you an in- 
crease in yield that will amply repay you for this 
extra work. 

Value of Cultivation. — It is an admitted fact 
that a good crop of small grain can be grown on 
a field that has been in com the year before, even 
though no fertilizer was used in preparing the 
field for corn. Corn of itself has not enriched the 
land, but the cultivation necessary to produce 
this good corn has fertilized the soil so it is mel- 
low and fine, and is in perfect condition for a crop 
of grain once the seed bed has been prepared. 
The man who has not learned the great value of 
proper cultivation, cannot get from liis soil the 
yields which it is capable of producing. We 



78 QUACK GRASS. 

can take old fields and by plowing them immediate- 
ly after harvesting, and disking them several 
times during the fall, then double disk them once 
in the spring before using the drill, and we will 
thereby improve the yield of grainfrom 20 to 30 per 
cent the first season, and another 15 per cent can be 
added to this by giving this field a top dressing 
with your manure spreader after the seed has 
been sown, or even after it is up. My manure 
spreader has a six inch tire and I can go over the 
field without injuring the growing crop. By 
systematic cultivation, and a reasonable supply 
of fertilizer, we can soon bring our fields back 
to their native fertiUty. Get after your grain 
fields immediately after the grain is gathered. 



CHAPTER IX. 

OTHER METHODS OF ERADICATION. 

The Tar Paper Method. — On some farms where 
quack grass has just gotten a start, and where the 
only visible signs of the pest are a few scattered 
patches — possibly one or two — the farmer may 
consider it impractical to take up the extensive 
system of eradication recommended in other 
parts of this book, which treatment is largely 
intended for farms where quack grass has either 
formed a perfect sod over large fields, or where 
the patches are so numerous that in time it will 
do this. The tar paper method of treatment is 
therefore recommended for these small patches. 
In using the tar paper method, we work on the 
same principle as by the cultivation treatment 
recommended elsewhere, in other words, we keep 
down all above ground growth over an entire 
season, thus shutting off the stomach of the plant 
and starving the roots to death. 

In using the tar paper method, merely secure 
the ordinary tar paper on the market, and cut it 
in strips sufficiently long to go clear across the 
patch and extend four or five feet beyond the edge 




Fig, 17. "Roots" of quack grass buried under tar paper 
from July 17 to October 7, 1907; "roots" dead in April, 
1908. (Bulletin No. 105, Experiment Station, Ames, 
Iowa.) 



OTHER METHODS. 81 

of the patch. Be sure to have it extend over 
the edge, as the roots of quack grass extend out 
further than the green patches show. If you 
merely cover the patch, you still leave this circle 
of roots outside. By running the tar paper over 
the entire distance, you catch the whole thing. 
In laying the strips of tar paper, see that they over- 
lap about four inches, then weight down these 
overlappings with dirt so that no light can get to 
the patch. 

The tar paper method can be used early in the 
spring, or after the grass has been cut for hay. 
After putting on the tar paper, however, leave 
it on for the rest of the season to make sure that 
you have done proper work. You will then find 
that the next season this patch of quack should be 
entirely gone. To make certain, however, that 
all the roots are dead, we would spade into these 
patches first and make an investigation. 

Treatment for Larger Patches. — Sometimes 
there are patches of quack grass on the farm that 
are too large to treat by the tar paper method, 
and yet too small to use more general cultivation 
methods, such as are recommended for treating 
fields. Where these patches are thickly sodded, 
plow them under and plow deep. Then use the 
disk until you have formed a good dust covering. 



82 QUACK GRASS. 

If the patches are so small that you cannot use a 
double team, then use one horse on your walking 
cultivator. Put a stone on the cultivator so 
that it will dig deep. Cultivate both ways and 
all around the edges. You will quickly observe 
that the quack grass is being subdued and is less 
vigorous after each cultivation. Be most 
thorough with this work, and when it is com- 
pleted you will find that your ground is in the 
very best condition for the planting of any crop 
you may desire. Do not plow when you are ready 
to put in a crop, but merely disk the groimd and 
it is ready for the seed. The spading harrow is 
recommended by some experimentors for 
treating small patches. 

Subduing With Smother Crops. — The use of 
various kinds of smother crops, such as buck- 
wheat, millet, sorghum, and even clover, has been 
advised by many agricultural experts. We have 
never seen it demonstrated, however, that smother 
crops would actually kill quack grass, nor do we 
beHeve that it will. It is true, however, that 
when a smother crop is properly used it will keep 
quack grass down to a few frail plants the year 
the smother crop is grown. Unless the most 
careful work is done the following year, however, 
and the ground persistently cultivated, the quack 



OTHER METHODS. 83 

grass roots will be found to have been merely 
lying dormant the year before and getting ready 
for an extra good crop the following year. 

In low lying or wet land, smother crops are 
practically of no benefit, since in such localities 
quack grass will make a far more vigorous growth 
than any smother crop you can grow on that kind 
of ground, as the result, the quack grass smothers 
out the smother crop. The use of smother crops 
in fighting quack grass is based along exactly the 
same lines as various kinds of cultivation we 
have mentioned, namely; the starving of the roots 
by keeping down all above groimd growth. 
The smother crop by shading the land fully oc- 
cupied, prevents effectual growth of quack grass 
that season, and where the soil has been properly 
prepared and the smother crop put in in good 
shape, there will be very few sickly quack grass 
plants that make headway that season. How- 
ever, these few plants are sufficient to keep quack 
grass roots alive and they will lie dormant that 
year, and if given opportunity the next season, 
will soon become as vigorous as ever. 

As above mentioned, we do not know of any 
one who has completely killed quack grass by the 
use of smother crops. We have heard some 
farmers claim that they have done so, but in- 



84 QUACK GRASS. 

vestigation has shown that in most of these cases 
the results have only been partially successful; 
that is to say, enough quack grass was killed so 
that the farmer was enabled to grow good crops, 
but complete eradication as is given by the Crane 
system, has not been shown. 

Of the various crops used in smothering 
quack grass, buckwheat is, in nearly all cases, 
considered the best, for the reason that buck- 
wheat can be planted later in the spring than most 
any of the other smother crops; it grows quite 
a dense foliage, and brings fair returns. An 
Iowa farmer, Mr. B. B. Strayer, of Fayette County, 
Iowa, reports, in an Iowa bulletin, the following 
method of fighting quack grass with buckwheat. 
Mr. Strayer says : 

''Plow the ground very shallow early in the 
spring, then harrow until perfectly level, let it 
lie until about the 25th of June, when the quack 
grass and other weeds will have reached a large 
growth. Take three good horses and a sixteen- 
inch walking plow, and turn the ground over, 
plowing as deep as possible, using a heavy log 
chain attached to plow and whiffletree to pull the 
growth of vegetation into the furrow, so that it will 
be completely covered. Sow with buckwheat, 
and harrow lightly with slanting-tooth drag; 
harrow around the field, in the same direction 



OTHER METHODS. 85 

in which it was plowed, so as not to uncover any 
of the vegetation that has been turned under, 
or bring any of the quack grass roots to the sur- 
face. If the above treatment of ground that is 
infested with quack grass is carried out, little, 
if any of the weed will be left, and the crop of 
buckwheat will more than pay for the trouble." 

The Farmer Farm of Dakota county, Minne- 
sota, reports the following experience in using 
various smother crops and systems of cultivation 
in fighting quack grass. In summarizing their 
experience in fighting quack grass during two or 
three years, the following suggestions are made by 
the management of The Farmer Farm: 

"The method adopted at the Farmer Farm 
was to first get the seed bed in perfect condition 
by disking and dragging. Disking on hot days 
was found to work great damage to quack grass. 
After the com was planted we endeavored to 
avoid the usual danger of scattering the weed 
caused by the use of the ordinary shovel and 
hence adopted surface cultivation. The Tower 
surface cultivator used cuts off the weeds just be- 
low the surface and lets them lie instead of car- 
rying them over the field. This method of culti- 
vation proved very successful and practically no 
quack grass remains at this time except dead 



88 QUACK GRASS. 

roots and we have a good crop of corn. We 
do not mean to say that the quack grass is all 
killed off, but it goes to show that quack grass 
can be very much subdued and a good crop of 
corn raised at the same time by using this method 
of cultivation, wliich is accomplishing a great 
deal more than is usually accomplished where 
quack grass is firmly established. 

'*We also experimented with other crops on 
quack grass land. In one field where the quack 
grass was particularly well sodded, the ground 
was plowed in late May after the quack grass 
was nearly waist high, and the whole sod turned 
under as deeply as possible. The ground was 
then put in condition and millet planted. The 
millet has come out very well indeed and given a 
good crop of hay, except in the low places, where 
the quack grass has killed it. On the liigh 
groimd there is practically no quack grass mixed 
with the millet, but now that the millet has been 
removed it is sending up a few sickly plants. 
If allowed to have its own way it would doubtless 
be as firmly established as ever next year. On 
the millet ground we will put in com next year 
and adopt the same method of cultivation used 
this season. The com ground will probably 
be seeded to barley and clover sowed with it. 



90 QUACK GRASS. 

' ' We also plowed some of the quack grass sod 
in June and put in sorghum. The results were 
practically as with the millet. A good crop was 
raised and the quack is now sending up spindly 
shoots. The quack grass has been hurt and kept 
in check, but not killed. 

''On another farm we have observed what 
clover will do on quack grass sod, and we find that 
a good crop of clover has in some cases been 
raised even where the quack was very abundant; 
in fact we have seen one field partially infested 
with quack grass where the clover is higher on 
the quack sod than on any other part of the 
field. This leads us to believe that quack 
grass will do less damage in the meadow than on 
any crop on the farm. This is the best place to 
keep it until more active measures of cultivation 
are taken up. 

''Quack grass land should not be cultivated 
at all unless it is cultivated thoroughly and not 
allowed the slightest advantage until a crop is 
well established. 

' ' Quack grass will do the least damage in the 
meadow. The hay should be cut before the quack 
grass seeds are ripe. The plant will spread some- 
what from the root, but not nearly so much as in a 
cultivated field. 



OTHER METHODS. 91 

' ' In order to kill quack grass it must be smoth- 
ered, that is, its roots must be starved to death 
by keeping down all growth above ground. 
This starving of the roots may be accomplished 
by surface cultivation or by the growing of some 
crop which will prevent its making any above 
ground growth. Unless great care is used, the 
ordinary shovel plow in a wet season will do 
much to spread the growth of quack grass in 
other parts of the field. Smother crops, such as 
millet, sorghum, clover and buckwheat cannot be 
absolutely depended upon to kill quack grass, but 
if given sufficient headway in starting growth 
they will greatly damage the vitality of the 
plant, and other methods of eradication can then 
be taken up. 

''Fall plowing or disking just before freezing 
weather, will kill a large proportion of quack 
grass roots. Disking in hot weather will have 
the same effect. Surface cultivation has proven 
eminently satisfactory at the Farmer Farm in 
growing a first-class field of com on quack grass 
sod." 

! Mr. Thomas Harbom, late manager of James 
J. Hill's farm, gives the following experiences in 



92 QUACK GRASS. 

fighting quack grass in Steams county, Min- 
nesota : 

' ' Don't plow your land or touch it in any way 
until about the 25th of May, so as to give the 
quack grass a good chance to get started. Then 
take a plow and put on a jointer instead of a 
rolling coulter. Then be careful in setting out 
your ridge to see that everything is thoroughly 
covered and plow as deep as possible. Then as 
soon as possible after it is plowed harrow thor- 
oughly and make as good a seed bed as possible. 
Next take your corn planter and plant Triumph 
or any kind of corn that will grow a medium sized 
stalk and a good, heavy leaf. See that the com 
cultivator teeth are thoroughly sharp and culti- 
vate as often as possible. Then cut your corn 
and before it freezes up take a potato digger 
and run that on each row which will shake the 
soil from the roots and leave them on top of the 
ground and the frost of the winter will kill it, 
but if you think the roots are not dead take your 
rake and rake them out and burn them. Then 
plow and seed to small grain of any kind and with a 
seeding of clover you have got your land clean. 
If tliis does not clean it, repeat the former part 
of the program. ' ' 

Mr. A. W. Trow, the well known agricultural 



OTHER METHODS. 93 

writer, gives the following suggestions in fighting 
quack grass : 

' ' We have known of several first-class farmers 
in Olmstead county who start in to eradicate 
quack grass by first giving it close pasturing with 
horses or sheep. The longer and closer quack 
grass is pastured the nearer its roots come to the 
surface. After it has been pastured imtil the 
roots have come close to the surface, the ground is 
plowed very late in the fall, and it should be plow- 
ed extremely deep. If possible turn this furrow 
at least ten inches deep, and bear in mind that 
this plowing is of no account unless a flat furrow 
is turned; that is, turn the furrow completely 
upside down. This deep plowing with a flat 
furrow is to bury the quack grass, and afterward 
follow with a cultivated crop, but the culti- 
vation should be shallow to avoid tearing up the 
sod and bringing the roots to the surface. We 
recently met an expert farmer from one of the 
large estates in Sweden, who informed us that 
deep plowing after close pasturing was a system 
of keeping back quack grass that is being quite 
generally followed in his coimtry. He used the 
term * keeping back, ' as he claims it to be almost 
impossible to entirely eradicate it in their country 
where the precipitation is so heavy. 



OTHER METHODS. 95 

• 

''When ground infested with quack grass is 
plowed before a sod is formed, or if the sod is of 
s uc h a character that a flat furrow can not be turne d , 
it is better to plow very late in the fall and leave 
the furrow standing on edge as much as possible, 
as there is nothing that will reduce the vitality of 
quack grass roots more than dry freezing, hence 
as above stated, there are two distinct methods 
for plowing quack grass — either bury it complete- 
ly or turn the furrow on edge to be exposed to the 
frost, and the condition of the ground and the 
depth of the roots must determine which is the 
best plan to follow. 

' ' In fighting quack grass it is well to remember 
that it has a few vulnerable points, that its roots, 
more than most other plants, are weakened by 
freezing, and especially when they are exposed 
in loose dirt. We do not mean by this that 
late fall rough plowing will destroy quack grass, 
but it is only a means of keeping it in subjection, 
and reducing its vitality as a preliminary to its 
ultimate eradication, by intensive cultivation or 
by the use of smother crops, such as millet, buck- 
wheat or hemp. Quack grass roots do not thrive 
as well in loose dirt as in a compact soil. This 
being the case some of our farmers begin early 
in the spring stirring the groimd with a four shovel 



96 QUACK GRASS. 

com cultivator, and continue to go over the 
ground about once a week until the last of June or 
first of July, then sow to millet or buckwheat. 
This system in conjunction with the late fall 
rough plowing is a plan quite generally followed 
by our best Canadian farmers, but please bear 
in mind that this deep cultivation would not be 
advisable where an attempt was being made to 
smother the quack grass roots by extremely 
deep plowing." 

The Iowa, North Dakota and Minnesota 
Experiment Stations have issued bulletins on 
the subject of weed eradication which are of 
service to farmers in studying the eradication 
of quack grass and other weeds. A few 
government bulletins may also be obtained 
for the asking. 



A FEW STATEMENTS CONCERNING THE 

EFFICIENCY OF 

MR. CRANE^S METHOD. 



98 QUACK GRASS. 



STATE OF MINNESOTA 

FARMERS' INSTITUTE 

St. Paui., Minn., May 25, 1909. 

To Whom it May Concern: 

On Nov. 3, 1908, I visited the farm of Mr. 
P. B. Crane, at Long Lake, Minn., and went care- 
fully over all his fields. I again visited his farm 
on May 21, 1909, and went carefully over the same 
fields. One field that grew wheat in 1908, and 
is now seeded to speltz, shows absolutely no 
signs of any queck grass. This field is said to 
have been badly infested with quack grass and 
was treated in 1907. A field from which a crop 
of quack grass hay was cut in 1908, was plowed 
August 1st and treated the balance of the season, 
and is now being planted to corn; we were unable 
to find any hve quack grass in this field. I have 
no doubt of Mr. Crane's ability to eradicate 
quack grass. 

A. D. WILSON, 

Superintendent of Minnesota Farmers' In- 
stitutes. 



QUACK GRASS. 99 

TURNHAM & TALBERT 

RAILROAD CONTRACTORS 

Long Lake, Minn., Jan. 27, 1910. 
To Whom It May Concern : 

Being a neighbor of Mr. Crane's and having 
some witch grass on my farm, am naturally very 
much interested in his system of cultivation, as 
I believe this is one of the hardest problems the 
farmers of this community have to contend with. 

On examining the soil after witch grass has 
been killed, I find it to be in as good condition 
as clover sod that has been broken up, and the 
corn in his crib this year certainly testifies to the 
value of the soil. Have just taken a trip through 
the com belt of Iowa and I saw no com that 
could compete, in all ways, with the corn Mr. 
Crane has raised on this same land he has re- 
deemed from witch grass. 

Others have failed on one or two acres while 
by his system hundreds of acres can be easily 
reclaimed and as a means of fertilization his 
system is unequaled. 

His discovery will be worth many dollars to 
farmers in our vicinity and is brought within 
the means of. all. 

Mr. Crane is certainly entitled to great credit 
and his achievement in this line should be recog- 
nized by the public. 

GEO. A. TURNHAM, 

Chairman of Supervisors, Township of Orono. 



100 QUACK GRASS. 

MINNESOTA EDUCATIONAL ASSOCI- 
ATION 

J. M. GUISE, Corresponding Secretary 

St. Paui., Minn., May 24, 1909. 

To Those Wishing to Rid Themsei^ves of 
Quack Grass: 

That Mr. P. B. Crane of Long Lake, Minn., 
is able to destroy permanently, quack in its worst 
form, has been demonstrated to my entire satis- 
faction. Living a neighbor to Mr. Crane, I 
have watched his work with interest and must 
confess with some increduHty at first. 

Last summer I examined fields in which he had 
used his method of cultivation and found them 
looking like a garden, where formerly they were 
perfect mats of quack. 

One field which had been treated in the sum- 
mer of 1907 was seeded to wheat in 1908 and last 
Fall when I examined this field there was no sign 
of quack. This spring, just yesterday, when I 
examined it, I found a good crop of speltz growing 
on this field and not a single spear of quack has 
put in an appearance, showing that the ground 
had been effectively cleaned of the quack. 

Another field from which a crop of quack 
grass was cut for hay in July of last summer, was 
treated and when examined last fall was found 



QUACK GRASS. 101 

free from any living quack. This spring this 
field is planted to com and a very careful examina- 
tion failed to disclose a single spear of living 
quack. 

If Mr. Crane is able to accomplish such 
effective results on a farm that was infested as 
badly as I knew his to be, I see no reason why 
the same method of treatment should not prove 
equally effective any place that it is put in 
operation. 

I believe Mr. Crane's method, which he has 
worked out after long experimenting, will prove a 
boon to the many farmers in Minnesota who are 
fighting against this pest. 

Very respectfully yours, 

JOHN M. GUISE. 



102 QUACK GRASS. 

SAMELS BROS. 

MANUFACTURERS OF BUTTER 

MiNNEAPOUS, Minn., Jan. 19, 1910. 

To Whom it May Concern: 

This is to certify that I have personally 
called on Mr. P. B. Crane, of Long Lake, Minn., 
in June, and it so happened that he was break- 
ing a piece of quack grass land the day that I 
called on him; this gave me a chance to see the 
grass before it was turned over. I again called 
on him in September to examine the same 
field, and found that he had made a complete 
eradication of the quack grass in this field. I 
also examined several other pieces of land that 
he had treated, and was unable to find any quack 
grass in any field that had been treated, while 
there was plenty of the quack grass in the ad- 
joining fields. I am fully convinced that Mr. 
Crane has the right method and the right prepara- 
tions, and I bought enough compound for 20 
acres. I have treated my land and have every 
reason to believe that the quack grass has been 
killed. 

Yours respectfully, 

W. H. SAMELS. 



QUACK GRASS. 103 

THE DAKOTA FARMER 

PROF. THOS. SHAW, Associate Editor 

Aberdeen, S. D., Oct. 5, 1909. 
To All Whom it May Concern: 

This is to certify that I vivsited the farm of 
Mr. P. B. Crane near lyong Take, Minn., on Aug. 
28th, 1909. Mr. Crane showed me ground that 
was plowed up on May 21st to the depth of 7 
inches. It had been mowed for quack grass hay 
for four years previously. It was treated on 
May 20th with a spray that Mr. Crane has dis- 
covered and which he uses once on the quack 
before it is plowed. This ground was subse- 
quently double disked five times. I could not 
find a blade of living grass on it, though I searched 
carefully above and below the surface. The 
roots were plentifully present below the surface, 
but they were all dead. I examined other 
fields that Mr. Crane had treated in previous 
years, and not a blade of the quack was to be 
found on them. The method followed by Mr. 
Crane is certainly effective. I am watching, 
with interest, his experiments in killing quack 
at different seasons. He has never failed thus 
far in destroying every plant in the fields where 
he has imdertaken the work of eradication. 

THOMAS SHAW. 



104 QUACK GRASS. 



W. W. CARR & SONS 

GENERAL MERCHANTS 

Crystal Bay, Minn., Feb. 5, 1910. 

To The Public: 

We are pleased to state that Mr. P. B. Crane 
has been a neighbor of ours for a number of 
years, in fact, his farm is just across the county 
road from ours, so we have had a good opportunity 
to watch his progress upon his matted quack grass 
fields since he purchased the property. His 
progress seemed very slow and almost ineffective 
for several years, but since 1908 he has had the 
quack grass correlled, for on his fields that were 
solid beds of quack grass for the last 30 years and 
worthless, he is now raising just as fine crops as 
any one in the state of Minnesota. His eradica- 
tion of quack grass, under his methods of killing, 
is wonderful and permanent, and it will bring 
back into use many of the unclaimed acres of 
our state. 

Very truly, 

W. W. CARR & SONS. 



QUACK GRASS. 105 

THE CITY NATIONAL BANK 

W. J. MOORE, President 

Tipton, Iowa, Aug. 10, 1909. 

To Whom This May Concern: 

This is to certify that I have recently visited 
the farm of P. D. Crane near Long Lake, Minn., 
I have examined his fields now under cultivation, 
and find his method of eradicating quack grass 
to be all that he claims for it. I believe it to be 
the only solution known at the present time to 
thoroughly destroy quack grass effectively. 

Respectfully, 

W. J. MOORE. 



Long Lake, Minn., May 24, 1909. 
To Whom it May Concern: 

This is to certify that I have this day re-ex- 
amined the fields on which my friend Peter B. 
Crane killed quack grass during the summer of 
1908 and cannot find a spear of this kind of grass 
and I believe that he has thoroughly eradicated 
it root and branch. 

I am convinced that his system is a success. 

Very truly yours, 

A. W. PAGE. 



106 QUACK GRASS. 

LAW OFFICES OF 

W. L. HURSH 

Minneapolis, Minn., Jan. 19, 1910. 

To Whom it May Concern: 

I reside at Long Lake, Minnesota, about 
a mile and a half from the forty acre farm of 
P. B. Crane. I have been familiar with the con- 
dition of the Crane farm for the last twenty- 
five years, and during all that time imtil within 
the last few years, this farm has been thoroughly 
polluted with Quack Grass, so much so that it 
was almost impossible to raise a paying crop on 
any part of it, while parts of it were so matted 
with the Quack Grass that nothing could be grown. 

I have been watching Mr. Crane's experi- 
ments for several years past and have been upon 
the farm at different times to see what progress 
he was making, as I had some Quack Grass land 
of my own. 

For a number of years he made very little 
progress, but during the seasons of 1908 and 1909, 
he thoroughl}^ cleaned out the several tracts 
that he worked on. I examined part of his 
farm in the fall of 1908 and found no Quack 
Grass in a field where in the spring there had been 
nothing but Quack Grass. I examined this field 



QUACK GRASS. 107 

again in the fall of 1909 and there was no Quack 
Grass. 

At the same time I examined other fields 
which in 1908 were full of Quack Grass, and was 
unable to find any Quack Grass roots. 

Mr. Crane has certainly hit on the right method 
of eradicating Quack Grass as he has turned the 
most worthless farm in our neighborhood into one 
of the best cultivated tracts, free from weeds and 
Quack Grass, in the country. 

Under his direction and following his sug- 
gestions I have completely eradicated Quack Grass 
from two acres of land at my home, which was 
so taken by Quack Grass that nothmg else would 
grow on it. Quack Grass can be eradicated with 
the ordinary farm tools within one season if Mr. 
Crane's method of procedure is carefuUy fohowed. 

Yours truly, 

W. L. HURSH. 



108 QUACK GRASS. 

C. D. LYDIARD 

Dealer in 

GENERAL MERCHANDISE 

Long Lake, Minn., Nov. 30, 1909. 
To Whom it May Concern: 

This is to certify that I have been acquainted 
with Mr. P. B. Crane for a number of years and 
have known the farm on which he lives for over 
thirty years, and can truthfully say that when 
Mr. Crane bought this farm it was the worst bunch 
of quack grass that I had ever seen. 

Mr. Crane went after this with a determina- 
tion to kill it out, but, for seven years the quack 
still had the best of the situation. From that 
time on it has gradually disappeared, field by 
field until today he has a reclaimed quack grass 
farm. 

Cleaner fields or more perfect condition of 
soil I have never seen in any state, and the crops 
that this reclaimed quack grass land produces 
are far superior to that produced by the virgin 
soil. 

Some of this land has been tilled for over 
fifty years, and not a particle of fertilizer has ever 
been applied, and no person would give one dol- 
lar per acre for the use of it. This season it 



QUACK GRASS. 109 

produced one hundred and six baskets of com to 
the acre on one field and 40 bushels of speltz on 
another, proving that quack grass is a grand good 
restorative to the soil. 

Mr. Crane is writing up his system of eradica- 
tion in book form. Every "quack grass" 
farmer should get a book and know how to re- 
claim quack grass lands. 

Very sincerely yours, 

C. D. LYDIARD, P. M. 



110 QUACK GRASS. 

STATE BANK OF LONG LAKE 

ROY H. JEWETT, Cashier 

Long Lake, Minn., Nov. 30, 1909. 

To Whom it May Concern: 

This is to certify that I am well acquainted 
with Mr. P. B. Crane and am very familiar with 
the condition of his farm on which he has been 
eradicating quack grass. I can truthfully say 
that his farm was the worst mat of quack grass 
that I have ever seen. 

Mr. Crane has thoroughly demonstrated the 
fact that quack grass can be eradicated. He 
has done this work himself, and it is just wonder- 
ful to see the reformation that he has worked on 
his farm. Where nothing but quack grass grew 
in 1908 he raised 106 baskets of com to the acre 
this season, and not a particle of fertilizer was ap- 
plied to this field. Today, his fields are as clean 
and free from quack grass as any garden ever was, 
and the soil is as mellow and rich as any soil could 
possibly be. Mr, Crane predicts 70 bushels of 
com to the acre next season and it certainly 
looks as though he would get it. 

His method of eradicating quack is practical, 
and any and every farmer can attain same re- 
sults by applying Crane's system of cultivation 



QUACK GRASS. Ill 

which he is now writing and will have in book form 
so that every tiller of the soil can have one, and 
with this in his possession can proceed to reclaim 
his quack grass lands. This means many milHons 
of dollars to the quack infested districts of the 
United States. 

Respectfully submitted, 

ROY H. JEWETT, Cashier. 



112 QUACK GRASS. 



C. B. HUSCHKE 

MANAGER 

Morgan, Minn., Feb. 2, 1910. 

Mr. p. B. Crane: 

Dear Sir: I just had a letter from Mr. C. O. 
Gilfillan, telling me that you wished to know what 
success we had with the Quack Grass last 
season. I must say we did not give same a fair 
trial. I could not get the team onto the land 
because we had to hire a team, but this season we 
will try and have a team on hand of our own, 
but this field might be better than we look for 
when spring opens up ; as yet, can't say. We are 
going at it in the spring again on another field 
and try and follow your directions to the letter. 

Yours respectfully, 

C. O. GILFILLAN. 
By C. B. Huschke, Agt. 



QUACK GRASS. 113 

IvAKB WiivSON, Minn., Feb. 7, 1910. 
P. B. Crane, Esq., Long Lake, Minn.: 

Dear Sir: Yours of the 25th to hand and 
glad to hear from you once more and that you 
are having such heavy crops on your reclaimed 
quack land. It seems to me that one of my 
letters must have miscarried, or been lost in the 
mails. I continued the cultivation of my patch 
tmtil the middle of October before I put in the 
com plow to tear up the sod. I had the most 
favorable weather in September for my work I 
had had all the season. After turning up the 
sods I still foimd a few live roots in three dif- 
ferent patches; these patches were in the wettest 
part of the field and did not get as much work 
as the other part of the field on accoimt of so much 
rain. I cultivated the whole piece once each 
way and where the sod was heaviest in the wet 
places, twice each way, and when I examined the 
field just before it froze up I still found a few live 
roots, but I had to himt for them pretty close 
by taking a piece of the sod in my hand up care- 
fully to find the small pieces that still had a Ht- 
tle life left, but am perfectly satisfied. If I 
had had a favorable season I would have had a 
clean field. I have fifteen cans of the mixture left 
yet and will try another piece this spring, so I 



114 QUACK GRASS. 

will have to get the sprayer shipped down here 
again in the spring as I would like to start about 
the tenth of May or just as soon as corn is planted. 
In your letter of 25th inst. you said you were 
getting out some new printed matter, and would 
like to have me give my experience with your 
treatment. I have given you a true statement, 
in the above and don't think it will be any good 
to be used in your publication. I would also say 
in regard to your treatment in this neighborhood, 
the neighbors have not taken any in the same 
as far as I can see. I never had one visit my 
field all season; of course, when in town, there 
were lots of inquiries after Mr. Quack and if he 
was dead yet, but I never heard one of them 
say they would try a piece next year, and some of 
them think that I was an easy mark to be 
caught in such a scheme. Hoping to hear from 
you soon and wishing you success in killing Quack, 

Yours respectfully, 

WILLIAM SCOTT. 



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